Augmented Letters: Mnemonic Gesture-Based Shortcuts

Augmented Letters, a new technique aimed at augmenting gesture-based techniques such as Marking menus by giving them the ability to embed over-trained semantics. Augmented Letters gestures consist of the initial of command names, sketched by hand in the Unistroke style, and affixed with a straight tail. We designed them as a tentative touch device interaction technique that supports fast interactions with large sets of commands, is easily discoverable, improves user’s recall at no speed cost, and supports fluid transition from novice to expert mode.